Tonight In Miami, It Counts

The Marlins, Looking For Improvement, Open The Regular Season Vs. The Dodgers.

April 25, 1995|By Gordon Edes, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

MIAMI — Florida Marlins manager Rene Lachemann once made the mistake of predicting great things from a team that had Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. Fingers is in the Hall of Fame; Molitor and Yount are strong candidates to follow.

That team, the 1984 Brewers, lost 94 games and finished last. The manager, not surprisingly, was fired.

Lachemann will not make the same mistake again tonight when the Marlins meet the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the season. Not with a team that is dependent on Quilvio Veras, Chuck Carr and Pat Rapp, none of whom is on a fast track to Cooperstown.

''I would definitely hope our offense is improved,'' said Lachemann on the eve the Marlins' third season-opener. ''Hopefully our starting pitching is improved, also. But I've got some concerns right now.''

When the Marlins take the field at Joe Robbie Stadium, they will be greeted by a sellout crowd of 47,000 whose annoyance at the 232-day strike should be tempered by the anticipation of appraising a new batch of Marlins' imports.

The talent influx does not include Marquis Grissom and Ken Hill, despite owner Wayne Huizenga's willingness to lay out about $50 million for their services in a supposedly strapped baseball economy.

As clever as Dave Dombrowski was, the Marlins' general manager couldn't decree which rules the game would be played by this spring. That decision was made by a federal judge in New York who informed the owners they would not be permitted to make their own rules.

So when cold cash failed, Dombrowski still made a bid to Montreal for Grissom, but the Expos were seduced instead by Atlanta's glut of talent. Grissom remains in the Marlins' sights - he becomes a free agent after this season if the Braves don't lock him up long-term - but in the interim, Dombrowski has reeled in:

- John Burkett, the 22-game winner (1993) and first pitcher besides Charlie Hough to start a Marlins opener.

- Bobby Witt, who has lost more games than he has won, always shows up to pitch.

- Veras and Charles Johnson, rookies in the rare position of being awarded their jobs rather than having to win them. Dombrowski traded Bret Barberie to make way for Veras and erased Benito Santiago in favor of Johnson.

''With this team, there will be a lot more nights I'll feel comfortable going into a game knowing that we have just as good a chance to win as our opponent,'' said Lachemann, whose Marlins teams have lost 47 games more than they've won in two years.''

There is one move still to come: Unless his elbow becomes unhinged, Bryan Harvey will be traded. The only question is when. The Cleveland Indians have backed off for the moment, though it may only take a couple of blown saves by Jose Mesa and Paul Shuey for Indians GM John Hart to pull the trigger.

When the call comes, Dombrowski will want starting pitching in return. The Marlins' rotation remains in a highly flammable condition. Chris Hammond is hurt yet again, while Rapp and David Weathers haven't convinced anybody they deserve permanent spots.

Florida is about as happy going with Mark Gardner, 33, on Wednesday night as they were with starting Scott Pose ahead of Carr in center field on Inauguration Day.